We were still a couple hours from landing. I am used to those tedious crossings, and never liked them, but work is work. The enticing, if a little monotonous voice couldn’t be avoided. The attractive person sat to my left and, earlier on, I had given up the idea to escape, trying to concentrate instead on my reading.
Something in the musicality of the words intrigued me: I had heard the tonality many times before, was it possible? I turned slightly toward my neighbour, a well dressed woman in her thirties with real sex appeal. Her make up was perfect, after already six hours of flight. She smiled, and then I abandoned any doubt.
Many times, in my long life, he confronted me, in many disguises. This time the voice was talking literature, authors I knew and liked. The Devil is canny, and he knows his subject. I must have disappointed him once again, by not giving too much attention to his speech. I calmly pulled the little crucifix I always travel with.
“Vade Retro Satanas…” But my companion had already vanished from her seat.
Of Glass & Paper 